Chipmunks are more nuisance than danger

When I first moved from a city to the Poconos, I had a couple of unexpected encounters. First, my yard was filled with two-inch round holes. Snake holes, I thought.

LAUREL BISHOW

When I first moved from a city to the Poconos, I had a couple of unexpected encounters. First, my yard was filled with two-inch round holes. Snake holes, I thought.

Then, after the first winter, the motorcycle in the garage wouldn't start. It was filled with acorns. The holes and the acorns pointed to one culprit: chipmunks.

Eastern chipmunks (Tamias striatus) are small, brownish, ground-dwelling squirrels. They are five to six inches long, weigh three ounces, and have five black lines with white striping down their backs. They also have two white stripes around the eyes. Their tails are short and are held straight up when they run. At mealtimes, they hold food with their front feet.

Chipmunks are omnivores. They'll eat anything, but they prefer grains, nuts, berries, mushrooms, insects, salamanders, and your carefully planted bulbs and seeds. They will also prey on small birds and eggs. Since they don't hibernate, they carry food in their cheeks to their underground burrows for storage. From late fall through early March, they stay underground and eat from their larders.

Come spring, in April and May, the first litter of two to five pups is born. By eight weeks of age, they leave the burrow. A second litter is born sometime between August and October. There can be as many as 10 chipmunks per acre. Their life span is only three years, but in that time they can become quite a nuisance.

The best way to deal with chipmunk mischief is to prevent it in the first place. If they are causing problems in the garden, use one-quarter inch mesh hardware cloth to cover your flower beds. The cloth should extend one foot past the plants and be covered with soil. Plants can be sprayed with a taste repellant. However, really extensive plant damage is not from chipmunks, but more likely from squirrels, rabbits and groundhogs. Chipmunks are just the fall guys.

Besides attacking gardens and clogging up motorcycles, their burrowing can cause structural damage to patios, stairs, retention walls, and foundations.

Chipmunks are not protected by federal law, but they are protected by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. You are allowed to remove them if they are causing damage to your property.

First try exclusion and discourage them from hanging around. You can also use the mesh hardware cloth, or caulk, to prevent them from entering the house or garage. Place birdfeeders at least 15 feet away from the house so they aren't attracted to your place. Don't have a continuous strip of shrubs, trees, or groundcover connecting the woods to your house.

If you don't have a lot of chipmunks bouncing around, trapping is also an option. Live traps baited with peanut butter, shelled nuts, raisins, or breakfast cereal gets rid of your problem without harming the animal. Take the trap several miles away before you release your captive. Don't release it where it will become a problem for someone else.

Rat snap traps and glue boards can also be used, but keep children and pets away from them. Place a box with small chipmunk-sized holes over these traps. It will help prevent birds and other animals from getting caught.

Regardless of the type of trap used, check traps often and never touch a chipmunk. They could carry disease.

I love seeing chipmunks. They are a sign of spring, and I'm ever so grateful those aren't snake holes in the yard.

Sources: ohioline.osu.edu, www.ces.ncsu.edu, pubs.cas.psu.edu

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